Rosita
Rosita is a turquoise, bilingual monster who first appeared on Sesame Street in 1991 (Season 23). Hailing from Mexico, her full name is Rosita, la Monstrua de las Cuevas (Rosita, the Monster of the Caves).1 She is five years old,2 and celebrates her birthday on December 7. She is the second bilingual Muppet to recur on the show (after Osvaldo the Grouch), speaking both English and Spanish. She is good friends with Zoe, Elmo, Telly Monster, and Abby Cadabby. Rosita has often presented the Spanish Word of the Day, and features frequently playing her guitar. She's very good with history, as well as geography.3 Rosita has an extended family which includes an abuela and other relatives. Her dad, Ricardo, served in the military and is in a wheelchair due to injuries related to his service. He made his debut with Rosita's mom, Rosa, in the 2007 resource video, Talk, Listen, Connect: Changes. Wings Rosita originally had wings attached to her arms, reflecting her original concept design as a fruit bat.1 Members of Rosita's Family have exhibited the ability to fly, as seen in a 1995 episode where Rosita practices some flying of her own, but has trouble with making landings. In 2017, performer Carmen Osbahr explained that "She couldn't fly but she was able to glide like a flying squirrel. But mainly the big arms with wings were designed because she used to give very big hugs and to play the guitar."4 Her designer Ed Christie went into detail on the puppet's construction in the same social media post: “I designed Rosita with wings. Totally my invention. She was described to me as a "monster from the caves". I took it upon myself to reference a bat....and she was a monster that evolved similarly. I also thought (and hoped) that it would have been characterized as a sign of female empowerment...a way for the character to do things the other monsters didn't. It was a sort of superpower built into her species. Beginning with Season 35, Rosita was rebuilt and no longer had wings. Years later, Osbahr revealed that the decision to remove Rosita's wings had never been communicated with her: “No! Lol. The first day of Season... I don't remember which one she just didn't have them. It shocked me. It was Production at Sesame Workshop. What they told me was that the people in Merchandise took that decision. In a 2011 interview with ToughPigs.com, Rosita offers an explanation for the loss of her wings: she claims that her family flew from their cave (near Snuffy's) during a storm, like a flying squirrel, and she lost her wings.3 Notes * Rosita was named after one of Carmen Osbahr's best friends in Mexico, and was originally conceived as "a young girl monster proud of her heritage who encounters problems learning English."5 * In a 1999 episode, Rosita says that Prairie Dawn is her best friend, but in a 2000 episode, she looks for a best friend and eventually settles for Herry Monster. During the 1980s (and as listed in their profiles in The Sesame Street Treasury volumes 6 and 9), it was Herry and Prairie who were often paired as best friends. * Years before Rosita first arrived, Big Bird made friends with a chicken named Rosita on his trip to New Mexico. * As of 2000, Sesame Workshop's digital video database was named after the character.6 Filmography * Sesame Street (1991 - present) * Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration * Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years * Sesame Street Stays Up Late * Sesame Street All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! * Don't Forget to Watch the Movie * Lead Away! * Fiesta! * Elmocize * Quiet Time * Elmo Says BOO! * Elmo Saves Christmas * Elmopalooza * A is for Asthma * A Brief History of Motion Pictures * CinderElmo * The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland * Kids' Favorite Songs 2 * Music Works Wonders * Bert & Ernie's Word Play * The Street We Live On * What's the Name of That Song? * We Are Family: A Musical Message to all * Happy, Healthy, Ready for School! * The Get Healthy Now Show * Let's Get Ready! * Abby in Wonderland * Elmo's Christmas Countdown * Being Green * Elmo Loves You * Talk, Listen, Connect: Changes * Talk, Listen, Connect: Deployments * Coming Home * When Families Grieve * Math Is Everywhere * Food for Thought * Growing Hope Against Hunger * Little Children, Big Challenges: Divorce * Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration * Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas * The Magical Wand Chase Book appearances * We're Different, We're the Same (1992) * Big Bird Meets the Orchestra (1993) * Around the Corner on Sesame Street (1994) * Bright and Early with Elmo (1994) * Rosita's Block Party (1994) * Rosita's Calico Cat (1994) * Rosita's New Friends (1994) * My Name Is Rosita (1995) * Rosita's Surprise (1995) * Sesame Street Stays Up Late (1995) * Elmo's Lift-and-Peek Around the Corner Book (1996) * Elmo's Christmas Colors (1997) * Pumpkin Patch Party (1997) * Baby Party (1998) * It's Not Easy Being Big! (1998) * Clap Your Hands! (2002) * Look and Find Elmo (2002) * Listen to Your Fish (2003) * Brought to You by... Sesame Street! (2004) * Elmo's World: Sports! (2004) * Fun with Friends (2004) * Animal Alphabet (2005) * Boo! (2005) * Let's Compare Sizes (2006) * S is for School! (2006) * Abby Cadabby's Rhyme Time (2007) * Big Bigger Biggest (2007) * Elmo & Friends Picture Stories (2007) * Lots of Opposites (2007) * Music Player Storybook (2007) * Rosita's Easter on Sesame Street (2007) * I'm a Helper (2007) * Color Carnival (2008) * Rosita and Elmo Read a Recipe (2008) * Rosita and the Beanstalk (2008) * Storybook ABCs (2008) * What's the Word on the Street? (2008) * Count to 10 (2009) * Love, Elmo (2009) * Busy Friends (2010) * Murray's First Book of Words (2010) * Over on Sesame Street (2012) See also * Sesame Street Monsters Category:Elmo's World Fanon Characters Category:Sesame Street Category:Muppets